Surgical needle



Jan- 4, 1927.

uH. s. soUTTAR SURGICAL NEEDLE Filed March 2l.. 1922 Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

Uhllill STATE;-

HENRY SESSIONS SQUTTAR, GF LONDN, ENGLAND.

rai.

SURGICAL NEEDLE.

Application filed March 21, 1922, Serial No.

'Ihis invention relates to surgical needles and has particular reference to surgical needles such as are used for stitching up cuts and wounds. Such needles are employed with suitable ligatures and hitherto diiiiculty has been experienced in providing means tor connecting the ligatures to the needles in such a way as not to leave any obstructions such as would tend to tear the Wound or material being sewn or malte a larger incision than is desirable.

According to my invention I construct the needle With the ligature or thread as a substantially integral attachment to it and the invention consists broadly therefore o'lZ a surgical needle constructed with a ligature proceeding directly from its endV lremote trom the point, said ligature being so attached as to be a continuation ot' the needle and substantially integral With it. This may be effected by forming the needle with a tubular end remote from its point in which the end orp the ligature is secured, tor instar. e by the application of slight pressure to the tube atter the ligature has been inserted, although as will hereafter appear other means ot' attachment may be adopted.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated by Way of example certain embodiments of my invention,

Fig. l being an elevational view to an enlarged scale of one iorm of surgical needle.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereot. E Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to l and 2, illustrating a. moditied construction.

Referring to these drawings the numeral. l designates a solid steel or other pointed end and 2 designates a tubular end which in the case ot a surgical needle is preferably oi silver. This tube 2 is connected at one end to the reduced end 3 of the pointed member l remote from the point and the other end ot' the tube has attached to it the ligature or thread It will be noted that the end 3 is reduced so that When the tube 2 is in position its Walls will be flush With the men ber l. The tube 2 may be attached to the member l by pressure, soldering` or otherwise and to the ligature or thread by pressure, cementing or other suitable process.

In the moditication shown in Figs. and Ll, the pointed member l is redu ed at 23 as betere to accommodate the tube 2 but its extremity 5 is still further reduced and pro` vided with a spike or point 6 upon which the ligature or thread can be anchored prior 545.490, and in Great Britain April 7, 1921.

to the application ot the tube. By this means the ligature or thread is securely held. It should be noted that the foregoing are given by Way ot example and do not eX- haust the possible forms needles in accordance with the invention may tale in practice.

The needle may be ot circular section as shown, but it may also in some cases be of other sections such as square or triangular in which case the tubular end will be holloiv member which may contorni in shape to the body of the solid member but will preterably be cylindrical and the body o" the solid member so formed as to gradually merge te the cylindrical Where it meets the tube. ldoreover, the term needleherei'nbetore employed is to be regarded as including both straight and curved needles, lacing threaders and like articles.

By means ot the foregoing invention sevvlngor threading ot any character Whatever may he more easily done, because the ligature or thread is always single; further, the aperture made by the needle will alloiv a ligature et' the same size as the needle to follow through Without any further force being used than is necessary to push or to draiv the needle through the body or any other material to be sevvn.

I-Ieretotore it has been proposed in such articles as sacking needles to provide means for holding the end ot' a cord, rope or the like in an axial bore provided in an enlarged end of the needle. In some eases the end ot' the cord is held in a gripper adapted to screw into the inner end ot the axial bore in the enlarged end ot the needle; in other cases the enlarged end of the needle is provided with lateral holes by means of which a thread can be passed laterally through the cord then along the side ot the needle and through another pair olf' lateral holes. Gf course none of these methods Would be practical it applied to surgical needles and my invention does not contem plate any such arrangement.

lVhat I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent, is:

l. A surgical needle comprising a stem having a solid redured portion at the end remote from the point, a ligature et a diam` eter substantially equal to the reducedportion ot' the needle7 and a tube in the bore ot which the ligature is secured'and arranged for attaching said ligature to the reduced portion of the needle, said tube haviruY plane lil() parallel sides ot' unitorin section throughout, the outer diameter' of the tube being the saine ae that of the adjacent end o'l? the needle Stein so as to present a continuous surace.

A surgical needle comprising a stein having av point at one end and a reduced portion at the other end, a ligature and means lor attaching said ligature to the reduced end of the needle comprising a. spike or point projecting from said reduced portion upon which the ligature is anchored and a tube which tightly embraces both the ligature and the reduced portion of the needle, the outside diameter ot' the tubecorresponding to the outside diameter olf the adjacent end of the needle stein eo as to present a continuous sartace.

2:3. fr surgical needle comprising a e'ein having a solid reduced portion at the end renlote from the point7 a ligature ot diameter substantially equal to the reduced portion olf the needle, and a tulte attached at one et its ende to the reduced portion et the needle and at its other end to the ligature, the outer diameter ot' the tube beiney the .saine as that of the adjacent end of the needle stein so as to present a continuous surf ace.

In Witness whereof l afli my alture.

HENRY SESSIONS SOUTlX/ll 

